1. Field of Invention
This application is in the field of musical instruments, including woodwind instruments.
2. Background.
The classic tambin (depicted in FIG. 1) is a woodwind instrument from Guinea, West-Africa. Structurally, the classic tambin has a conical (or cylindrical) and tubiform body with a plugged wide end (typically of one inch diameter), known colloquially as the “head,” and an open pointed end (typically of five eighths inch diameter), known colloquially as the “foot”. The classic tambin typically features: a large, winged, and rectangular embouchure with a bee's wax chamber adjacent to the head and three finger holes toward the foot. Operably, the classic tambin produces one complete diatonic scale with seven notes over one and a half octaves, wherein the notes are typically within the second to fourth registers.
The classic tambin produces powerfully haunting and “organic” sounds which may be incorporated into musical compositions. Regardless of the quality or character of classic tambin sounds, music composers may not be able to introduce tambin sounds into their musical compositions since the tambin is limited by its diatonic scale and register range. Said limitations are particularly evident to composers of Jazz, Blues, and other contemporary or non-african music styles. The tambin is, thus, not entirely a satisfactory woodwind instrument for some musical composers since such composers must either prepare tambin specific musical compositions or forgo introducing tambin sounds into their music whenever the composition is beyond the tambin's register or scale.
Other unsatisfactory aspects of the classic tambin also exist with regard to tambin tuning. Typically a tambin's tune is defined by either (a) the specific location of the finger holes along its body or (b) the length of the body. As a result, tambin tuning may be problematic for a musician since the musician must either carry multiple tambins of different tuning (i.e., tambins with different hole placement or lengths) or carry a single tambin whereby the musician is restricted to a single tambin tune.